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Hi All,Orks are back!And in this game, I was actually tracked down for a game by a mate who has been running an Eldar list. He tells me that he's been trying to optomize it, and wants to see how it runs against the Orks. As we've had (as I'm sure readers can tell) a pretty heavy Knight meta, his list has been geared to deal with them and chaff.

But, Orks... Orks are something different.

I told him that the Orks are pretty tough with their new Codex, but he's up for seeing what they can do.

When he brings out his list, I can see why it's pretty nasty.

Double Reaper, double Hemlock, Big Guardian block.

Pretty nasty... but no assault elements.

And I do have my newish list with now NO mech, but a BIG Stormboy horde.I haven't used Stormboyz in a very long time, but I'm eager to see how they do against Eldar.

So, how did the Orks do? Did they run wild or just get shot up (or both)?

Read. On.

Best,-BT

P.S. Fluff is of course included, but Comments/Critiques are greatly appreciated!

Farseer Dunkas consulted his runes again, but there was no doubt. His daughter, Farseer Lorilune of the Saim-Hann, had her fate intertwined with... Orks of all things. The details were sketchy, and nebulous to the point where Dunkas considered that outside forces might be in play. But, who would want Lori to be in such a predicament? Her own Craftworld had disowned her, and even his puritanical heart threatened to cast her aside as well. But, he had promised his former-wife, Autarch Lennara, that he would aid in her search to find their missing daughter. They had split up to better track down leads, and it took some time before Dunkas was able to isolate the particular strain of Ork.

The creature known as Warlord Grumgutz Bitzgrabber had created a massive assault on Imperial space and was crushing everything in its way. The tactical acumen of the attacks were clearly more than the simple-minded brute force that the Orks were known to usually apply, and it was thus that Dunkas considered an odious possibility: His daughter might be more than just a simple captive. She might be forced to use her Aeldari abilities to aid the Greenskins. The mere thought made Dunkas' insides turn as the thought of the creatures forcing Lorilune to pervert the powers of the Eldar was beyond sacrilege.

Waiting carefully for his moment to strike, the Farseer of the Alatoic homeworld readied his forces in the Webway. Soon his daughter would be freed and the monster slain. All, of course, for the good of the Eldar race. And it would finally get Lennara off his back.

--------------------------------------------------

Ex-Farseer Lorilune sighed, watching the last of the Orks load up the vast machinery into the Killkroozas. The Orks had ransacked Deneb IV, tearing apart every bit that the Greenskins thought they could use and throwing it into heaps aboard their hastily made craft. Lorilune wrinkled her nose as she saw the barely held-together outlines of the enormous ships. From all the ruins and wreckage, the Orks had cobbled together an armada in record time. And only a third or so of them had caught fire on the launching pad. So, for the Orks, it was a massive success.

Lorilune sighed, looking up at the endless sky. War. So much war. The Orks never seemed to grow tired of the endless conflict, but for her, the entire affair was becoming rather tedious. With overwhelming numbers and firepower, the remains of the Mon-Keigh PDF were barely more than an annoyance. A waste of time for a Horde that needed something meaningful to fight.

It was at this point that she heard a roaring of engines and saw the unmistakable form of the enormous Warlord Grumgutz Bitzgrabber jumping over a pile of rubble with his Big Mek Wingnut in tow. The huge Ork landed amongst the assembled group of Boyz, knocking a few aside as the Warbike-driven Warlord landed with a meteoric impact. A few moments later, Wingnut skidded to a halt, trying to stay out of the way.

Lorilune sighed. Why was Grumgutz here personally? wasn't her day arduous even as it was?

"Dare I ask what this is all about?" asked the Ex-Farseer, leaning on her staff, her frazzled looking crimson locks tossled about.

"Really now," said Lorilune, not bothering to hide her sarcasm, "A feeling? I thought you were above petty superstitions."

"Dat and we got a lotta Boyz wif no head anymore," added Wingnut helpfully, "Done look like Panzee Dakka." The Big Mek looked around sheepishly, as if imagining snipers around every corner.

Lorilune raised a concerned eyebrow, "Eldar weaponry? Are you certain?"

"Dat's why we's here, Louie," said Grumgutz with a a smirk. The enormous Ork held up a shard of metal and Lorilune took a sharp intake of breath as recognition hit.That was from a Ranger's Long Rifle. The Aeldari were indeed here. But, why? What could they...

A sudden bolt of thought hit Lorilune as she remembered the ominous words of her mother not that long ago. Assassins. They were after her for disgracing the Craftworld.

"Grumgutz," said Lorilune, drawing in closer and looking around, "We're in terrible danger. We have to..."

Grumgutz chuckled, "We'z not in any danger, Louie, don't you worry. I know how dem Panzees think. Dey been watchin' us fer a while now. Waitin' til we'z about to leave."

Lorilune frowned and said, "But, why are you here? By putting all three of us together you've almost guaranteed that..."

A flash of insight hit Lorilune and she swore as she felt the jaws of a trap snapping shut. She glanced around. All of their heavy weapons were already broken down and loaded up. There were Orks around, certainly, but not enough to stop an incursion. How could she have left her guard down so easily?

Then, there was a massive roar and Lorilune glanced over to see a huge mob of strangely dressed Orks roaring up, the leader dressed with a strange, almost precisely cut uniform, laden with medals of various kinds. All of the Orks had a crudely made rocket strapped to their backs and were jumping forward with something resembling organization. The group then stopped with almost tactical precision (only a sixth or so tumbling head over heels to a stop), and the lead Ork saluted to Grumgutz, who just nodded.

"Brother-Captain-Primaris-Sergeant Skarbutz reportin' for duty, sir!"

The Nob snapped his heel down and the other Orks did the same. Lorilune glanced around and saw the other Orks shaking their head at this certainly un-Orky display of discipline.

"Good, good," said Grumgutz, scratching his jaw. "We got Panzees out dere, Skarbutz. Dey's fast. You'z fast. You fink you can give 'em a good fight?"

"Sir, yes, sir!" barked Skarbutz, saluting again, this time with the other hand for good measure. "We'z been re-outfitted special wiv RED rockets. If we can't catch dem, nobody can."

Grumgutz and the other Orks nodded. Red ones go fasta, everyone knew that. And then the silence was broken by Lorilune, who interjected, "Are you serious that your... rocket packs are going to be adequate enough to intercept the majesty of an Aeldari Warhost?"

Skarbutz shot a look over and said, "Begging your pardon, Warlord. If dere be a question as to who'z faster, my ladz and me would be ready for any such race."

Lorilune rolled her eyes and said, "I'm certain that you lot are fast enough to throw your lives away in a Shuriken Cannon barrage. Now, what we actually need is..."

A sudden flare of light cut Lorilune off as the familiar glow of a massive Webway Portal appeared, a duo of Wave Serpents appearing like streaks of barely visible light, cutting behind a building while the harrowing whine of a pair of Hemlocks raced overhead, knocking a Krooza casually from the sky.

Lorilune swore as the Orks cheered. The idiots had no idea what the Eldar were capable of. Blood would flow this day. She only hoped that by Khaine's grace it wasn't going to be hers.

-----------------------------------------------------Pre-Game Thoughts/Setup:Well, I think I have a lot of Boyz. I've always wanted to try an infantry heavy list, and with just having three big blobs, I think I should manage board control.My opponent has a lot of anti-tank and I have... no tank, so hopefully the Hemlocks and Dark Reapers won't be able to do much, but we shall see...

As for deployment, the objectives go down somewhat evenly, with one in the center three in one deployment zone and then two in the opposite. My opponent starts deploying first and takes the one with the the markers. He puts the Wave Serpents in front, while I drop the majority of my infantry blobs in the center opposite. Hemlocks go to his flanks and Rangers in the others as I put Grots in the front of a big Green line and the characters sprinkled in the middle. I'm... almost out of board space. That's... kind of scary.

As for lines of fire, we have two decently big LoS blockers in the middle with scattered ruins around, so there can be some Eldar shenanigans, we'll just have to see...And my opponent wins the first turn handily (not even needing his +1!) and elects to go first. I fail to seize and the game is on!Picture Caption: You know, I may have JUST enough Orks... no wait, there's space on the left out there.

I genuinely laughted aloud reading the start there, several times. I truly have missed Grumgutz and Lorilune together, and the addition of Brother-Captain-Primaris-Sergeant Skarbutz can only be a great thing.

I truly am looking forward to this battle.

As a side note, I couldn't see the picture either until I started crafting this reply, then it appeared in the topic summary below. EDIT: And now I can see it all the time.

Well, the Eldar go first and my opponent takes some time to admire my massive horde (i.e. look for targets). Not seeing anything that looks bigger (or nastier I assume), he pushes up his Hemlocks to try and block my way to his backfield.He disembarks his Dark Reapers, Farseer and Warlock. Then, mass shooting kind of starts with some attempts to try and thin my Stormboy Horde. Sadly, the anti-tank doesn't take too much out of the ladz, and I end up only losing about a half-dozen or so. As an aside, he decides to smite some of my Grotz for the laffs.

He keeps kind of closed in, not going for objective three yet, so no points for the Eldar atm...

Picture Caption: While a bazooka works pretty well to take down a gnat, it's kind of overkill...

--------------Turn 1: Orks--------------

Throwing a look over his shoulder, Brother-Captain-Primaris-Sergeant Skarbutz checked his ladz. The Stormboyz were ready to show their worth. Their packs were loaded up with special squig-fuel and their Rockets were freshly pained the reddest red. They'd do the job straight-up.

A derisive snort brought his attention to Big Louie, who had their arms crossed and shaking their head.

Skarbutz had never trusted the Warphead. Grumgutz had said that Louie was an Ork, but Skarbutz had heard rumours. They sounded pretty daft about how Louie had once been a slave Grot Panzee that had broken free, stolen da powers of Mork n' Gork and now was a propa Ork. Skarbutz shook his head at that. Crazy talk's all it was. But, Louie was kind of weedy lookin'...

He'd better give a good impression if'n he wanted to shut the Warphead up.

Sparking his Rocket pack he opened up both fuel outlets to the startled gasps of his mates. One line was enough to send you high as a Gorkanaut. Two was right Madboy-level of crazy. But, he hadta be there first. And as the rocket ignited, Skarbutz tore off into the sky with an enormous burst of speed. He barely had time to strap down his goggles before the sky went by with an enormous blur and he could swear that somehow, somewhere he saw the faint figure of Big Mek Wazdakka himself givin' him the thumbs up.

So when he passed by the pair of Panzee planes with the pilots givin' him funny looks, it was almost par for course. His lads followed him and they landed in a jumble near the front. Not even a dozen Panzees stood in front of him, and Skarbutz was itchin' for a fight.

----------------------------------------

Behind the harrowing assault, Lorilune shook her head. Insanity. The Stormboyz had thrown themselves at Hemlock Wraithfighters and had somehow outmaneuvered the Eldar fliers. The Seers would be half-dead with shame for such a misstep. Still, something had to be done before the Hemlocks turned around and turned the Orks into soul-burnt husks.

She glared at the two packs of Tankbustas, who looked with glee at the incoming planes. It was a long shot, but perhaps something could be done to turn the tide.

There was confused blinking amongst the Orks and Lorilune sighed in aggravation.

Grumgutz laughed, gunning the engine on his bike and said, "What Louie's sayin' is you 'Busta boyz, get Mobbed up! Kankrusha, Dredhunta, youz both workin' together. Get ALL DA DAKKA!"

The two Nobz gasped as the strange idea filled their minds. Work together? Was it even possible?

Then, as if on cue, Big Mek Wingnut tossed out a massive bag of teeth and a giant crate of rockets.

Bad Moonz greed pushed aside common sense with all the subtletly of a Squiggoth in a China shop and the two Nobz decided to work together just this once. After all, there was a lot of fun to be had. And profit.

Wow, I got some good cards. Or at least, some things that I can probably get done this turn.

The Stormboyz get a massive 6 on their advance roll and we're all surprised as they hurtle over the Hemlocks (+1 to move AND advance means they motor hella far). My unit of grots is already on Objective 6, so we're good for that.I move a unit of Shootas up with the Boss to give the Stormboyz advance and charge.And lastly, I Mob Up the Tankbustas into a massive 20 man blob.

Psychic phase has me give Warpath to the Stormboyz (just in case) and then Da Jump one mob of Shootas to the right flank.

I use MORE DAKKA and SHOWIN' OFF to easily down both Eldar fliers (!) as the strats let me fire twice, 20 shots each time, hitting on 5,6's that "explode" into additional shots that ALL re-roll misses.

Needless to say, we're both a bit gobsmacked. The Stormboyz then hilariously use Loot It to give them 5+ armor, and then they assault into the Rangers and wipe them both with no problems. The Shoota boyz do a few wounds and then do about a total of a half dozen or so against the right Wave Serpent (meh)...

My opponent doesn't draw anything amazing, but is more concerned about the 50 or so Orks in his FACE. So, he mounts all of the Eldar into the unharmed Wave Serpent and then moves it far out to the left. The injured Wave Serpent moves up to screen.The Guardians come in and my opponent actually uses them to screen the Wave Serpents, which is an interesting use, I suppose.

They do some shooting against the Stormboyz, but without Psychic support and my now improved (haha) 5+ save, the Rocket Boyz don't take a huge amount of damage.

Picture Caption: EMERGENCY EVAC!

-----------------------Turn 2: Orks (6 VPs)-----------------------

Farseer Dunkas swore as he saw a greenish shimmer and a horde of Orks bearing rockets appeared from a greenish portal. They were carrying an almost comical amount of firepower, with primitive rocket launchers in either hand, and small Gretchin practically laden down with extra ammunition.

But, for all their attempts, not even the most skilled Eldar could keep themselves safe from the massive Tankbusta mob. For all Orks know one thing: If you fill the air with Dakka thick enough, somethin's gonna take a pounding.

Right, my cards really want me to go and beat some faces. I can do that.The Boss moves up to help the Stormboyz who go up to try and smash some Guardians. I start to move the Shoota boyz over, but they're pretty far away...I consider Da Jumping my other Shoota Mob over, but then I realize... Tankbustas.

So, the Tankbustas end up jumping over and again use the same combo of Double Shot-Exploding 5/6's and wipe BOTH Wave Serpents. Wow. Just... wow.The Tankbustas and the Stormboyz assault in with the Boss and wipe the Guardians for some minor losses.

Having lost a few Dark Reapers, my opponent decides that he needs to try and save some face and break out of the Ork hole he's in. So he shoots and assaults the Stormboyz, ALMOST wiping them out. But, as there's a massive horde of Orks next door, our morale holds.

The Eldar still haven't scored a point yet, but it's all but over for the Craftworlders. I just assault the Tankbustas in and the attacks down everything except for the Farseer.

Picture Caption: Yeah, this is kind of over...

And with that, my opponent concedes.

----------------------Result: ORK VICTORY!-----------------------

----------------------------Post-Game Thoughts----------------------------Wow, just... wow.My opponent and I were both more than a bit surprised as to how much shooting the Tankbustas put out.Those two strats with Mobbed up squads put out pretty much Knight-killing power and those Eldar vehicles didn't stand a chance.Granted, it's still on S4 6+ save models, but the amount of offensive power is just frightening.I have noticed a few things though:1. I could use some speed. Ork Boyz are fine for hitting screens and not very fast moving things that I can surround and beat on, but fast moving flyers are going to be hard to hurt with just choppas.2. Stormboyz are hella good, but really expensive. 30 come out to more than 250 points, which is a lot for a single mob. But, still, I can see why everyone raves about those fast blokes as they are amazingly fast and hitty. As an aside, the whole Loot It strat was kind of useful as it made them 5+ saves which actually helped versus Shuriken Catapults.

Not sure what to try next, but Orks are still fun!

Let me know what you all think.

Best,-BT

--------------Epilogue--------------

Laughter came out of the hulkish throat of Warlord Grumgutz Bitzgrabber as he held aloft the mostly broken body of Farseer Dunkas.

"You done gave us a good run, Panzee. Any last words?"

The Farseer paused and said, "My only regret... is that I could not... save... Lorilune."

Grumgutz was about to smash down with his enormous Daemon-Klaw and then paused.

"Say dat again."

Dunkas frowned, the blood swimming in his head, blurring his vision, "I'll not take orders from you, Ork. My daughter will come for you. She will not stand by and watch you debase my mortal form. You will come to regret this."

And with that, the Farseer went limp, his consciousness fading.

Grumgutz sighed and looked back at Big Louie. There was a characteristically un-Orkish pause and the Warlord bellowed, "Right, dat's good enough. Dese Panzees ain't no fun no more. Done fell over faster than a Grot in a Squig pen. Let 'em go."